Samsung Rolls Out Gear 360 VR Camera

Samsung will make its Gear 360 virtual reality camera available to the U.S. market at VidCon.

(CCM) — On Wednesday, Samsung announced that it would be making its highly anticipated Gear 360 virtual reality camera available for purchase at California's VidCon. The Gear 360 lets users shoot their own 360-degree video for their virtual reality headsets and will be priced at $350. The camera, which received a limited release in Singapore and South Korea in April, will only be introduced to the American market for now. Samsung has expressed plans to expand the camera's global availability, but has yet to disclose details.

In addition to the U.S. release of the Gear 360, Samsung has also kicked off a new initiative called "Samsung Creators", which aims to teach filmmakers how to use the Gear 360 camera to produce virtual reality video. About the initiative, Samsung Electronic America's Marketing Chief, Marc Mathieu, commented, "We want to bring the power of VR technology directly to the people." The company plans to conduct seminars and classes on the subject, which are set to begin at this week's VidCon events. The classes will culminate in July with a competition among indie filmmakers to select ten of the best VR/360 content in various categories.